Monday, 9 November 2009

I have nearly finished my painting of St Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower of Jesus.

Why did I choose to paint her? Because reading her biography "The Story of a Soul" so inspired me with her wonderful vision of her life after death and her holy concept of "The Little Way" that I couldn't rest or think of anything else until I could put on canvas the picture that she put in my mind.

St Therese has made sense of so many things about my life that have puzzled me and helped me to understand why I have been blessed with the constant desire to paint the little things of this beautiful world so I can share my love for them with others.

Two of my favorite things that St Therese said are "after death I will let fall a shower of roses" and "I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth".

In the evenings I spend a lot of time reading my favorite books about the Old Masters' painting techniques. There are so many ways you can get wonderful effects quickly and easily - if you know how. But when you read of the struggle they all had trying out different oils - sometimes with disastrous results, trying to find the perfect medium, the perfect varnish, I can only say "Thank you Winsor and Newton!" for giving me such a wonderful selection of trustworthy products... Van Dyke would have loved you!